I'd plant immediately - this kind of fantastic planting weather is rare here - cool, cloudy, damp. The type of weather that's kind to disturbed roots. I've planted literally hundreds of plants today.

The hot drying winds will be back soon enough. :-/

I think I saw that Ice Blue and another person was eying it and trying to figure out where she could plant it. She left - good luck for you! :-)

I too take advantage of the cooler weather. Just plant it, leave the blooms and see what happens. Water often, but don't allow the soil to become soggy.

To me, the most important thing to do is to check the root mass. If the roots are winding around the bottom of the pot, either stretch them out, if you can, or cut them off.

Thanks to both of you! I'm heading to my back yard, shovel in hand, as we speak.

cnetter, that's so funny that you might have actually seen "my" Ice Blue! A beauty, isn't she?

Lucky you!!..I've planted clematis with blooms and they did just fine...Jeanne

cohouser,
That Ice BLue was beautiful!

It turns out I was even luckier than I knew at the time. I went back to O'Toole's today to buy another clem, for a neighbor (I'm aiming to make my entire cohousing community clematis-dependent). Found out the price of the 2.68-quart pot is $12.99, and with 25% off it's $10 something instead of the $6.50 I paid for my Ice Blue. Somebody made a mistake when they rang me up. Anyway, IB is now in the ground, so they can't come and repossess her.